


Warmth

by psalmoflife



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Trope Bingo Round 2, gift-fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-24
Updated: 2013-09-24
Packaged: 2017-12-27 12:19:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/978798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psalmoflife/pseuds/psalmoflife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil has a terrible, no-good, very bad day. Clint does what he can to make it better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Warmth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AlyKat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlyKat/gifts).



> Aly had a rough day today and requested C/C fluff. I hope tomorrow is better!
> 
> Initially forgotten: I'm using this for my "huddle for warmth" square at trope_bingo.

Phil didn’t slam the door.

He _may_ have allowed the door to swing shut a little faster than normal, then punctuated the sound by kicking off his shoes (into the wall), but he didn’t slam the door. 

He did bypass Clint’s questioning “Phil?” to head straight into the bathroom, immediately reaching for the case for his contacts. He’d spent so long staring at the same memo that he was pretty sure the words were embedded into the lenses.

Once his glasses were settled onto his nose, he attacked his tie, finally giving up on getting the knot undone and yanking it over his head once the loop was big enough. When he turned around he saw Clint standing in the doorway, maintaining a carefully neutral expression.

“Bad day?” Clint asked.

Phil carefully blew a long breath out through his nose and didn’t answer.

“ _Really_ bad day,” Clint said. “Pizza?” 

Phil gave a bit of a head jerk, then attempted to push past Clint.

“Nuh-uh,” Clint said. “I know that look. Take a hot shower, I’ll get the food.” 

Phil was one of SHIELD’s finest, someone Director Fury (and the world, really) counted on at the eleventh hour to do the impossible- but he rarely, if ever, won a staring contest with Clint. Not when Phil’s well-being was on the line. 

He’d laughed his ass off when Clint moved in and brought a loofah, but Phil has stolen it more times than he can count, and there’s something familiar and relaxing about the way the rough material sloughs over his skin. He used Clint’s shampoo, too, and the familiar smell and the hot steam combined to release some of the tension behind his eyes. 

Clint had come in while he was showering to leave some pajamas on the counter. Phil had never seen them before, but they’re made of a particularly fuzzy fleece in a respectable navy blue, so he shrugged them on.

He didn’t really want to leave the warmth of the bathroom, but the doorbell changed his mind. Within a week of moving to this apartment Clint had somehow nosed out an amazing Italian restaurant with rapid delivery service. 

Clint dropped the pizza boxes on the coffee table and disappeared to the kitchen, reappearing with two glasses of chocolate milk and a roll of paper towels. The menu screen for Phil’s favorite movie was looping on the TV. 

The grease on the pizza was just a little too hot and burned the roof of his mouth, but it was the last bit of heat that he needed to jolt him out of thinking about work. He slumped into the couch cushions and stuffed himself on the pizza, absent-mindedly resolving to run a couple of extra miles the next day. 

He was peripherally aware of Clint taking away the boxes and the dirty paper towels, wanting to pay attention to the dialogue sequence he’d seen hundreds of times. Soft sounds came from the kitchen, reminding Phil of days when Clint decided to make bread from scratch, and then Clint came out of the kitchen with two mugs of hot chocolate.

Phil didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, preferring savory flavors, but Clint made the drink the good way, heating milk on the stove and working in real melting chocolate. Phil allowed himself to go totally boneless, slumping into Clint’s shoulder and just barely keeping the mug upright. 

Towards the end of the movie Clint took the empty mugs back to the kitchen, then returned to perch on the back of the couch behind Phil. Slowly, gently at first, he began to work the knots out of Phil’s neck, gradually increasing the pressure as Phil’s spine released, bowing forward until his forehead touched his knees. Clint was in no way a masseuse, but Phil’s kinks always appeared in the same distinctive places, and Clint felt that it was the least he could do to remember those spots. 

Eventually Clint’s touch softened again, moving from pushing and kneading to gentle sweeps, fingers carding through Phil’s remaining hair. Phil knew he should get up, should try to finish up the memo or at least clear his inbox in preparation for the next day, but Clint firmly said “bed,” and pulled him to his feet. 

Phil would protest that he didn’t need the help, except his knees were feeling a little wobbly, and when was the last time he slept? He was feeling cold again, too, the fleece pajamas unable to fully combat the fatigue that had settled into his bones. 

Clint stood next to him while they brushed their teeth, not even pretending not to watch Phil in the mirror. Phil thought about being annoyed, but this was what he and Clint _do_ , this blend of lover and caretaker and best friend, and he wouldn’t have wanted to recover from this hellish day with anyone else. 

Clint shepherded Phil into their bed, making sure that the pillows were arranged correctly to prevent the reoccurrence of the kinks in his neck. He also went to the linen closet and threw some extra blankets over the foot of the bed. 

“Warm enough?” he asked.

“Will be when you get here,” Phil mumbled, already dozing off. 

Clint smiled fondly, quickly tugging off his clothes and replacing them with sweatpants and a tee-shirt. When he slid into bed, Phil reached a lethargic arm out to tug him closer, until they were pressed together, interlocked hands braced on Clint’s hip.

“Clint?”

“Hmm?” 

Phil didn’t quite know what to say - wanted to say everything, “thank you” and “I don’t know what I would do without you” and “don’t ever leave” - but settled on “I love you.”

“Love you, too.”


End file.
